The two boys found guilty of brutally murdering Anguilla’s Shawn Seesahai last November when they were both 12 years old will be sentenced this month.
The hearing will begin on 26 September before a judge at Nottingham Crown Court in England and is expected to last two days.
Shawn Seesahai was 19 when he was stabbed to death in a park in Wolverhampton on the evening of 13 November, 2023.
He had travelled into the town on a tram with two friends so that one of them could visit their girlfriend, a report from the West Midlands Police said.
Shawn and the other friend bought energy drinks from a petrol station shop and went to Stowlawn playing fields in Wolseley Road to wait for their friend.
While they were sitting on a bench in the dark the two 12-year-old boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, came over from a nearby baseball court.
“Tragically the exchange that followed resulted in Shawn being fatally stabbed,” the police report said.
Shawn had only been in the United Kingdom for about six months, having come over from his home in Anguilla for eye surgery. He was living in Birmingham.
Evidence
Police held the scene overnight for forensic examinations and after trawling CCTV and speaking to witnesses, investigators arrested the two 12-year-old boys the following evening.
During their searches, officers found a machete in a storage space under one of the children’s beds.
They also seized a tracksuit with apparent blood stains on it from the laundry basket at one of the boys’ homes.
A forensic analysis of a mobile phone also revealed multiple images of large knives and weapons along with a recent search asking ‘how many criminal records can you have to leave the country’.
Witnesses said two boys were at the park and this was backed up by forensic phone work which also placed them there at the time of the fatal attack.
A post mortem gave the cause of death as a stab wound to Shawn’s chest. It also showed there was a second significant knife injury to his head as well as a number of slash wounds.
Both boys, who denied murder, refused to answer any further questions during police interviews.
Guilty verdicts
At Nottingham Crown Court, on 10 June, both boys were convicted of Shawn’s murder.
Detective Inspector Damian Forrest, who lead the investigation with the Homicide Unit, said it was “deeply shocking” that those responsible for Shawn’s murder were 12 years old.
“But it did nothing to reduce our dedication and fervour to ensure Shawn’s killers were brought to justice,” he said.
Shawn’s parents and sister travelled from Anguilla to to seek justice for their son.
His mother, Maneshwary, said Shawn was such a loving son, was well-mannered, looked after his family, was loving to everyone and very protective.
“He liked basketball and cricket, he loved those sports. He was always listening to music. He spent most of his time at home and didn’t want to go out much,” she said.
His father, Suresh, said he will remember his loving son every day, adding: “We are a very close family, we’ll never forget him.”
Suresh added: “Justice must be done. I want them to have the right sentence. They don’t have to be locked up for life, I just want it to be fair.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll get the justice we’ve come here for.”
